Mebyon Kernow can confirm that Cllr Dick Cole will be standing down as Party Leader at MK’s National Conference in Truro on 24th October.
Dick is presently the longest-serving leader of a political party in the United Kingdom.
He was first elected MK Leader in 1997 and he has been the head of the Party for Cornwall for the last 29 years. Prior to this, he served as MK’s Press and Campaigns Officer for five years. This means that he has been an office-holder within MK for nearly 80% of his adult life.
Dick has also been a councillor for 27 years. He was elected to represent his home parish of St Enoder on Restormel Borough Council [in his fourth local election contest] in 1999, and was re-elected in 2003 and 2007. Following the centralisation of local government in Cornwall, he was elected to the unitary authority and has been re-elected a further four times [2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025]. For the last five years, he has served the larger division of St Dennis and St Enoder.
He also contested Westminster constituencies in the General Elections of 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2017. In 2009, he also topped MK’s seven-person list for the election to the European Parliament for the “SW region.”
Dick has also been integral to many campaigns for greater recognition for Cornwall and the Cornish and, in particular, he has been to the forefront of the fight to secure meaningful devolution for the Cornish nation.
In 2000, he wrote the Declaration for a Cornish Assembly, which was supported by over 50,000 people, before being presented to 10 Downing Street on 12th December 2001. And last year, he moved a motion at Cornwall Council, which called for a devolution settlement, which properly reflected “Cornwall’s national identity and the national minority status of the Cornish,” along with the formal recognition of “Cornwall as one of the five nations of the United Kingdom.”
The motion was passed by 53 votes to 22, with two abstentions. It was backed by all councillors from the Conservative, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Mebyon Kernow groups, and all independent councillors – bar one!
Dick has also been involved with numerous campaigns for economic justice, housing justice, social justice and for the environment, and he is active within many community groups in his local area.
THE NEW MK LEADER WILL BE MICHAEL BUNNEY
Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall holds annual elections for its leadership team. Nominations closed in September and there was only one nomination [Michael Bunney] for Party Leader. Michael will therefore be returned unopposed at MK’s National Conference on Saturday 24th October and he will deliver one of the keynote addresses at the event.
Michael Bunney is a much-respected educationalist, who taught history in Devon and Dorset before coming home to Cornwall to teach at Newquay Treviglas School and serve as the deputy head of the Restormel Academy in St Austell. He is presently working for Gorsedh Kernow.
Previously, a councillor for MK, he served the division of St Mewan and Grampound on Cornwall Council between 2021 and 2025. He also served as a parish councillor in St Goran for ten years.
QUOTES
Cllr Dick Cole:
“When I joined Mebyon Kernow as a 21-year-old in 1988, I did not envisage the degree to which politics, council work and serving my local community, would dominate my adult life, or that I would end up as the longest-serving leader of a political party in the UK.
“At this time, I would like to thank all the party activists who have worked with me during my 29 years at the helm of MK. I am extremely proud to have been able to play my part in making the case for greater self-government for Cornwall and a much better deal for communities to the west of the Tamar. Obviously, this work continues and I will still be at the heart of Mebyon Kernow, campaigning for Cornwall and serving as the Group Leader of the MK group on the unitary authority.
“I was pleased to be able to nominate my good friend Michael Bunney to serve as the eleventh leader of Mebyon Kernow. He is a formidable and hardworking champion for Cornwall. I am confident that he will do a fantastic job and I look forward to supporting him in his new role.”
Michael Bunney:
“Dick has been an incredible leader of MK for nearly three decades. His service to Cornwall has been unparallelled in his generation and he has always combined political focus with a real honest approach to looking after our communities. Dick cares intensely about Cornwall and has also served as a councillor with incredible dedication.
“I am delighted that he is continuing as the leader of the MK Group on Cornwall Council. Dick’s intelligence and passion for Cornwall is needed now more than ever.
“It is an honour to take over from Dick as the leader of MK and I was delighted that he nominated me. I have learnt so much from him and I will continue his good work for Cornwall. Dick was the person who inspired me to join MK and we all owe him a huge amount of gratitude for his dedication to Cornwall.
“Meur ras bras Dick for all you have done and I look forward to following in your footsteps, with you at my right hand.”